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In this episode, we relish picturesque similes that detail the flora and fauna of the past, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 240, penned by Kollan Azhisiyaar. Set in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to the confidante, conveying the angst in her heart as evening arrives.
பனிப் புதல் இவர்ந்த பைங்கொடி அவரைக்
கிளிவாய் ஒப்பின் ஒளி விடு பன் மலர்
வெருக்குப்பல் உருவின் முல்லையொடு கஞலி
வாடை வந்ததன் தலையும், நோய் பொரக்
கண்டிசின் வாழி தோழி, தெண் திரைக்
கடல் ஆழ் கலத்தின் தோன்றி
மாலை மறையும், அவர் மணி நெடுங்குன்றே.
‘A sinking feeling in the evening’ is the thought at the core of this verse. The opening words ‘பனிப் புதல்’ meaning ‘cool shrubs’ indicate that it was the moist season of rains. In ‘பைங்கொடி அவரை’ meaning ‘green vines of the bean plant’, there’s mention of a creeper. Next, it’s the turn of a bird to appear in ‘கிளிவாய்’ meaning ‘parrot beak’. Following the bird, appears an animal in ‘வெருக்குப்பல்’ or ‘teeth of a wild cat’. Closing the circle with another plant, ‘முல்லை’ referring to ‘wild jasmine’ appears. The torturous season for separated lovers is depicted by the phrase ‘வாடை வந்ததன் தலையும்’ meaning ‘after the cold, northern winds arrive’. From elements of the wild and seasons, the verse turns to a man-made vessel in ‘கடல் ஆழ் கலம்’ meaning ‘a ship sinking in the sea’. Ending with the words ‘அவர் மணி நெடுங்குன்றே’ meaning ‘his sapphire-hued mountains’, the verse beckons us within.
Plants and animals, ships and mountains seem to load the verse with much substance. The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship when the man parted with the lady to gather wealth for their wedding. As days passed by, the lady languishes in the man’s absence and the confidante worries about the lady’s health. One day, the lady turns to the confidante and says, “The many flowers on the green creepers of the ‘avarai’ spreading on dew-coated shrubs, akin to beaks of parrots, flourish together with the ‘mullai’ flowers, akin to a wild cat’s teeth, after the northern winds have started to swirl. See how the affliction it causes brims over, my friend, when looking like a ship sinking into the clear waves of the deep sea, his sapphire-hued tall peaks vanish as evening approaches!” With these words, the lady expresses how she finds it immensely difficult to bear with the man’s parting as dusk decks the sky and makes her heart sink.
A majestic image of a ship going down the seas shouts out the emotion throbbing in this verse. Before we get there, the lady tells us about how the ‘avarai’ flowers, looking like parrot beaks are blooming alongside ‘mullai’ flowers, looking like a wild cat’s teeth. The similarity between two different plants and animals is linked with the characteristic Sangam plant-animal simile. While we have heard of the wild jasmine – wild cat connection before, the other one between ‘bean creepers’ and ‘parrot beaks’ intrigued me. When I searched for the plant referred to as ‘avarai’ in contemporary Tamil, that did not yield apt results for these plants had purple flowers and looked nothing like a parrot beak, and then I realised the word ‘avarai’ could be a generic one for ‘vines’ and found plant varieties such as the ‘red jade vine’ having flowers that look so like a parrot’s beak. Could it be an ancestor of this plant that is being referred to by this lady, two thousand years ago?
Returning, the lady has mentioned the blooming of these flowers to tell us the northern winds were blowing and that the season of rains had arrived. Perhaps the man had promised to return by then and that’s why the lady was in such pain. True, she responds to us, and adds that not only that, but also, as the evening spreads, the man’s mountains seemed to sink away from view like a ship breathing its last and giving itself up to the sea waves. This is to tell the confidante that at least when it was day, the lady could see the man’s mountains at a distance and draw strength from it, whereas as the dark coated the skies, her last solace was gone too, the lady concludes. A deep expression of inner feelings that will be a relief in itself, and that, with the comforting presence of her confidante, will hopefully render the strength the lady needs to bear with the man’s separation. The power of connecting one thing to another and the vividness it brings to the portrayal of nature, be it, inside oneself or in the world outside, is illustrated by the many images of this striking verse!
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